This is going to be a tricky story for me to write, for a number of reasons:

I’m pretty sure that anyone who is interested already knows: I finished the 2007 Leadville 100 with a time of 9:14:13 — 14 minutes and 14 seconds too slow to hit the goal I have been so publicly striving for. It’s not easy to write a suspenseful story everyone already knows the ending to.

I’m dealing with some pretty intense, conflictingÂ emotions right now: disappointment in myself, pride in my wife, happiness for some of my friends, empathy for others (and for one friend, both happiness and empathy — I’ll get to that).Â And battling all these emotions is this really overwhelming urge to make excuses and rationalize for myself. Which — whenever I catch myself doing it — I will try to erase and rewrite.

Unlike most years, I haven’t got a good conclusion set in my head, the part where I say, “Next year, I’m going to do better by . . . .”

I am not certain I am a good enough writer to do justice to the incredible bratwurst / Italian sausage feast Fish put on after the race.

So you know the ending, you know I’m pretty worked up, you know I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do next year, and you know I like a well-cooked brat.

But I think there’s a pretty good story in between. Some of it’s about me, some of it’s about Susan, and a lot of it’s about my friends.

It might take a couple days for me to tell it.

The Buildup
I look forward to the Leadville 100 every year, and the reasons why become a little more clear each year. It’s four days away from my computer. It’s a tiny town — so small that you can’t get lost and you feel like a local within twenty minutes. It’s where all my biking buddies — many of which I only see at this one annual race — catch up with each other. And it’s a great tradition, something that you can rely on to be the same, more or less, fromÂ year to year. Like Christmas or Thanksgiving, but it lasts four days. I like that.

What made it even better this year was that my wife felt well enough — or at least said she felt well enough to come along for the trip. So we dropped the kids off with Grandma on Wednesday night and then took off to Leadville Thursday morning, where we proceeded to do nothing but relax.

It’s weird — you have kids long enough and having a full day toÂ relax feels downright weird. And good.

ByÂ ThursdayÂ evening, lots of my close friends — more than a dozen — had arrived.Â And thanks to this blog, I got stopped several times on the streets by people wishingÂ Susan well.Â At theÂ hotel, the manager rushed out upon seeing me and gave me a big hug, welcomingÂ me back.

Seriously, she did.

The Leadville 100: It’s like Cheers, but bigger.

At the Starting LineWith 1000 registered riders this year, the field of starting racers stretched out more than a city block, with areas set up for everyone to place themselves — by honor system — where they thought they would finish: under nine hours, between nine and ten hours, and so forth.

You’ve got to be early to get yourself a good spot in the starting area. I got there about 5:30 — an hour before the race began. By muscling other bikes aside, I was able to plant myself by Rick Sunderlage (not his real name) and Brad. We hadÂ boldly set ourselves in the “under nine hours” area. Racer had set himself in the same area, but further up the field.

Kenny was in the special area reservedÂ for the elite first 100 finishers the previous year.Â Jolene, too.

Dug, Bob, Lisa, Nick, Linde and Bry had set themselves further back in the field. Everyone had a time or objective in mind, and everyone was serious about it — at least I believe they were, because I just can’t imagine doing this race as a lark.

All of us were wearing Fat Cyclist jerseys of one color or another. It made me so happy I thought my heart would burst. Or maybe it was the altitude that gave me that heart-about-to-burst feeling. Either way, I thought it was pretty cool.

I looked around, trying to find one particular face: Dean. Dean’s easy to recognize because he has the most outrageous lambchop sideburns you’ve ever seen. These are not sideburns one grows on a whim, these are the product of years of hard work and dedication.

Anyway.

Dean and I have done the Leadville 100 the same number of times, and usually with eerily similar results: out of ten tries each, neither of us had ever managed to break the nine-hour barrier. So we’ve been exchanging email this last year, encouraging each other, telling each other this is the year. And I think we each believed it was.

So when I found Dean and shouted his name, he waded toward me, shook my hand, said, “Let’s get this done,” and handed me one of those rubber bracelets that are so popular — you know, the kind the yellow LiveStrong bands made famous. Except the one Dean handed me was black and said, “Harden the F— Up.”

Good advice.

Go
Very early in the race, threeÂ things I would never have expected occurred. First, I felt invincible in the first climb — St. Kevins. My gearing felt a little tall, but not too bad, and I rocketed by dozens of people. Then I looked down.

I was climbing St. Kevins in my big ring.

Oops.

I shifted down to my middle ring and continued to pass people all over the place. And here’s the first unexpected thing: I was feeling no pain whatsoever.

Bry was way behind me (I assumed). Rick S. was nowhere close (as far as I was concerned). And there, not too far off ahead of me, was someone I would never have expected to see: Kenny Jones.

And then — here’ s the second thing I would never have expected — I passed Kenny. He had had to get off his bike and push (because he was on a singlespeed with a tall gear) and I whipped by him without so much as a how-do-you-do.

It was an exquisite moment.

And then, after finishing the hardest part of the St. Kevins’ climb, the third unexpected thing happened: I caught Chris Carmichael — yes, the honcho of Carmichael Training Systems. Chris was redfaced and at his absolute limit, while I was feeling fresh and somewhat chatty. He was, essentially, a captive audience.Â It was a glorious opportunity.

Briefly, I considered saying, “Hey, you’re doing all right, Chris, but what you need is a really good coach. I highly recommend Lofgran Coaching.”

But I didn’t. Because when it comes down to it, making people feel angry or bad isn’t really my thing. Usually, anyway.

What I did say was this: “Hi Chris. I know you’re hypoxic right now, but I’m hoping you can tell Lance Armstrong something the next time you see him. Tell him that at the Leadville 100, you rode with a guy who said that the Lance Armstrong Foundation has done his family a lot of good. OK?”

Chris nodded yes, and I rode on.

Eventually, I would be glad I did not tweak Mr. Carmichael as originally planned, because he and I passed each other probably half a dozen times and rode together for probably an hour of the race — in fact, he and I were probably more closely matched than I was with anyone else on the course. It would have been kind of embarrassing if the whole race I rode with a guy who I had made a snarky comment to before I had had a chance to see how strong he really was.

And besides, in the final fifteen miles of the race Chris would eventually pull away from me and beat me by nine minutes.

Tomorrow
Tomorrow I’ll continue this story. I’m not too sure how far I’ll get. There’s still a lot to tell. I mean, I haven’t even gotten us to the first aid station yet.

Harden the F.. up!? Good advice just about anytime.
Check out this Aussie version – BEWARE – course language content. Use headphones at work or if you are easily offended don’t listen!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y
And FC don’t be sad about not breaking 9hrs. Next year I reckon you can break the 9hrs as long as you “HTFU”
Oh and a testosterone patch on the goolies the night before can’t hurt either. ;-)

Regarding Philthy’s link to youtube. The guy is playing a well known celebrity (now) criminal hit man/murderer called Chopper Reed. It’s amazing how this guy has done his time and emerged into B list celebrity status here in Oz. Very good imitation and very funny stuff.

Today’s blog is just one more example of why you are a plentysix popular cycler/blogger – good work. I hope there is nothing to worry about regards the mention of Sue. You said “or at least said she felt well enough to come along” great to hear of strangers coming up and wishing you both all the best. Did the kids have a good time at Grandma’s?

Fatty, you’re still my hero. Don’t sweat the 14minutes. Congrats! And the way you narrated your heart warming experiences in Leadville makes me wanna go and fly up there all the way from the Philippines.

I’m gutted, as I’m sure you are, at such an eye-wateringly close race at the sub-9. No matter what people say, I know that your new PB will be scant reward (although I imagine that it will grow in worth over time).

A heroic effort nonetheless. Congratulations again. Looking forward to the rest of the tale (although I’m somewhat nervous about the part where your new saddle comes into the story).

Now, unless Dug is *not* a shortening of Doug or Douglas, it looks like you have yourself a nice new ride for 2008.

Ahh, the Team CSC bracelet. Very nice. It supports a good cause too, riding better.

FWIW, there’s no shame in saying, “I gave it everything I had but still got my butt kicked today.” I say that a lot after races because the sad truth is I usually don’t have enough. Like most people I race with, I’ve never won a race – podiumed, made the decisive move and sprung others for a win, including giving the perfect leadout… Racing as a metaphor for life, you only got what you got, no use crying that you didn’t have more. Good performance anyhow.

Dude. . . your ride had to be awesome. If nothing else, you have me hooked enough that I have been constantly checking to see if you have a new post all weekend. I even looked up all of your times on the official Leadville site. This is better than watching the Tour! Congratulations on a PB. . .

Inspiring. Congratulations to both you and Susan. Having witnessed some greatness while under treatment, I know it wasn’t easy for her. She’s one tough lady. So happy she could be there for you & your friends. A new PB is NEVER something to dis.

Kenny, freaking awesome performance, man. Even “awesomer” after the konk on the noggin a few short weeks ago. I hope I can one day achieve similar results….The Ferrous is awaiting a new Bontrager carbon rigid fork and a ss rear cog/spacers.

Like my boss used to tell me, “that’s no hill for a climber”. Fits here because you ARE a climber. That remaining 14 minutes and a few seconds will disappear off your finishing time next year, and that buckle will be yours.

I love you like crazy and believe that the extra 14 minutes were just a result of this blog, and the 15 minutes of fame you are currently experiencing. That doesn’t even make sense, but moving on….. You completed an event with the eyes of your wife on you and the support of the world behind you. You are totally victorious.

Congratualations on the great successes: Helping a spouse through incredible hardship, FINISHING Leadville (not to mention finishing in front of more than 850 other hardcore riders), conquering the snarky comments in favor of more meaningful ones, balancing family and riding (and by all appearances doing both quite well), etc, etc.

I’m hoping your conclusion is you can’t wait to try to beat 9 hours next year, regardless of the effort you put in this year. From what I can tell you’re closer than ever to acheiving it, and focusing for another year can’t hurt. My personal goal with the B7 was to break 12 minutes on my TT, and while I didn’t make it, I’m sure I’m a lot closer now than I was 12 months ago. I don’t know if I’ll ever get there, but I’ll keep trying. Having a goal, regardless of my past ability to acheive it, is helping me.

Congratulations! You have conquered many things in the last several months; you just need a bit more time for the sub-9. And I don’t know, but beating 850 other people ain’t no small potatoes! (oops, sorry to mention food! ;))

Your conflicting emotions say it all. At a time when Susan is your highest priority, it’s nice to have the distraction of training and competing; and, with her blessing, too. Being able to thrash away the stress and end up with a good result is very satisfying.
Riding with Carmichael had to be a fun time, too.
Best to you and Susan.

This reminds me of my wife when she comes home saying that she didn’t get the grade she wanted on a med school exam. I tell her what she is doing is incredibly challenging and that her just being there and being able to compete is more than most folks could hope for. Of course, like my wife, you are probably only slightly comforted by this concept that someone on the outside recognized what you are doing is hard as hell.
The fact that you got on a bike and rode it for 9:14 minutes is far more than most people would ever be willing to do. I love riding, but my longest day on a bike is probably 5 hours and I wasn’t racing. The idea of racing for 9 hours makes me ache.
Best to your crew.

clearly what one needs to do well is
- an aritificial hip (seems to work better than having just one leg)
- exongenous testosterone
- a couple of shots of whiskey the night before
that should result in a 7 hour finish time

I would put the blame on
- dr fuentes’ ‘butterflies’ – clearly not the right stuff
- lofgrans (that’s what they do in other sports – fire the coach!)
- old age – it is hard to go faster when you get older, so doing a personal best now is damn good.

The goal for next year – try to top fish’s performance.
This is the fat cyclist website after all – it is good to see Bratwurst take center stage in a race report again.

That was rough. As everyone’s been saying, the fact that you whipped yourself from fatness into fitness enough to even challenge the 9-hour mark is something you should be proud of. I couldn’t even break 12 hours, and we’re in the same riding group. I know how hard you worked and how much you sacrificed to go under 9, and on a day when the conditions were ideal and you didn’t crash or have any mechanicals, it still didn’t happen for you. The really difficult thing is that you know you can’t train that hard next year, not with everything going on, so it feels like this was your last chance. I hope it isn’t.

Glad to see you are writing. I was hoping that you weren’t too shattered about not getting a sub-9 (though I’m sure you are very disappointed). I know that if I were in your shoes, I’d be going over each and every race detail with sefl-depreciating thoughts like “Well, I should have pushed harder on that climb”, or “Why did I stop so long at xxxx, obviously I should have kept on going”.

I’m full of those thoughts. This weekend I went on a particularly hard ride (for me) and was passed up continuously on a fairly long and brutal hill. (I am always getting passed — I’m never the passer). But, I have to keep telling myself, there are many many many other riders out there that don’t even try this climb, and even more people that don’t even ride. So even though I’m fat and slow, at least I’m doing it.

Okay, back to you. Even though you didn’t pull a sub-9, holy crap — you finished with an incredible time! For the plenty-sixth time.

AND, Susan was there.

Oh, shout out to the Chica I saw riding down Foothill in the Pink Lemonade jersey. I hope I didn’t scare you as I pulled up along side of you to share an encouraging word. I told you I had the jersey — should have pulled it out of the bag. Post a comment if you want to ride with me (or my group) sometime. I live right down the road from where you were riding, and ride the hills in Los Altos at least 2-3 times a week.

FC, you did awesome. A new personal best! And, 14 minutes and change is easy to kick. You’ll hit your mark, never fear.

Glad to hear Susan got the chance to “get away” and relax, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the story!

Great shots, too. Leadville is always an incredible race!

I wore my Pink Lemonade at the Bridge Pedal here in Portland this weekend, and thought about the FC team at Leadville this weekend. I didn’t see any other FC jerseys on the ride, but maybe the type of person who would buy and wear such a masterpiece wouldn’t do such a ride as the BP. Oh well, I still gave you a bunch of free advertising. :)

Fatty Fatty Fatty – focus on the personal best. So you didn’t break 9 – you went faster than you have ever gone before. Most of us could not even finish that ride much less get better with age. And you hung in with a former pro cyclist/trainer. How cool is that!

Congrats on the finish. I look forward to your next installment.

All the best to you, Susan, your kids and your gang. Hope your legs recover quickly.

As a non-cyclist who could give two figs about cycling stories in her day to day life – you’ve got me on the edge of my seat with this one. I can’t wait to read the rest. You missed your goal – I congratulate you, nonetheless.
PS Is it possible – I think I saw an orange Fat Cyclist jersey yesterday here in Raleigh, North Carolina.

I admit that I am not a guy, so I don’t completely understand this obsession with time and “need for speed” thing. You accomplished a 100 mile MOUNTAIN race in 9:14. You wanted to complete it in under 9. To me that sounds like pretty much the same thing. There is no need to hang one’s head with that sort of showing. You are an inspiration, not only in your athleticism but also in your humanity. I’m glad there are people like you in the world.

Jiminy. That’s a difficult spot to be in. Did well, but not as well as you wanted nor trained for. Sorry and Congratulations …? Best to Susan. Hope it was still a great time for you and your family and friends. :)

My uncle is 77 years old and lives in San Diego. He’s been biking since Christ was a corporal and once split with a friend pedaling from SD to Chicago for a high school reunion when he was in his 50’s. He was recently out on his weekly club ride (he rides hills on his own the other 2 times a week he rides) and suffered a terrible crash last week.

It wasn’t a reckless rookie or a jerk driver. It wasn’t an ill advised move through an intersection. It wasn’t a pothole that someone forgot to call out. It was one of those little traffic counter strips that we all drive over or ride over from time to time. One end was not sufficiently anchored and it flipped up into his spokes. He did an endo which resulted in a slight concussion, bruise to the forehead, 6 broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a cracked vertebra.

He’s in the hospital and he’ll be ok. I write this for two reasons. One is to ask for the prayers, good vibes, and whatever else there might be that people could beam to this tough younger-than-old veteran rider who could use it. The second is to caution people about the unorthodox obstacles we all pass without notice but could get any one of us who are not paying attention. Ride safe.

Five years ago I was in the best running shape of my life and went into the marine corps marathon with high hopes. I missed my goal by 12 minutes and beat myself up about it for weeks. I started thinking about other marathons I could run to give myself a second chance. Then I stepped back for a minute and realized what I had just accomplished. And I became pleased with myself knowing that the time goal is really just a number, but the feat I had accomplished was, for me at least, something remarkable.

This year I am in the best cycling shape of my life. I did a road ride on Saturday that is very similar in profile to Leadville, 102 miles, 11,500+ feet of climbing. It took me a shade over eight hours. On a road bike. And the only people to pass me all day were a world champion (Kristin Armstrong) and two legendary local riders. And they were only doing about 1/5 the miles I was. When I got done, all I could think about was what an unreal thing it is to ride what I had just ridden on a MTB in only one hour more.

As far as I am concerned, you are the man (along with Kenny and Brad K and all the other finishers for that matter). You hung all day with a TDF veteran–does that mean anything to you? Nine hours is just a number. Don’t ever take anything away from what you have accomplished.

Great job! Although it was not a personal best (I believe you said last week that your PB was 9:13), it was still 50 minutes faster than last year and much faster than you have been in years. You are the strongest and fastest you have been in years – which is not easy to do (you know, after you get over, say 40 – jk). Besides, you were in the top 20% of all the riders in that race which is a huge accomplishment. Afterall, you rode with Carmichael most of the race and even he didn’t break 9. I think all of your hard work (and Lofgran’s coaching) did pay off.

Besides, you got to race with all of your buddies (and you beat most of them), your wife was crewing for you, you got to see old friends and your message to Lance is likely to be passed on – sounds like a good race to me. No need for excuses! Now let’s talk about those bratwurts/italian sausages!

I feel your pain. Way back when I PB’d a half ironman triathlon in 5:04something. I got a “finishers” pullover just the same as the schmos who finished in 8 hours. 4 minutes faster and I would have got a sub 5 medallion.

Well done to everyone and congratulations on holding old age at bay for another year. I have you to aspire to when I enter the 40s later this week.

I now realize just how hard a sub 9 is. It was great to be a part of team Fatty at Leadville. With 6 miles to go, i saw the 9 hour mark tick by and I found myself really hoping you were 30 min ahead of me. Soooo close. You had a great race. It was totally cool to see all the pink and orange jersey’s on the course.
Take two weeks off and then start training for next year.

Fatty, congrats on a really great finishing time! I know you’re probably a little bummed about not having a sub-nine, but just imagine how soon that belt buckle would have been battling The Girth of Self-Satisfaction. You would have jumped the shark, and perhaps even begun acting like a total Assos. Or at least mixed your metaphors.

Well, I think you’re awesome, regardless! And I’m with Keep Yer Bag, the best thing was having Susan there to crew. Think ahead: the pros all seem to go a lot faster after their trips to Italy, so I’m confident this will be the case with you as well.

(P.S. MAJ Mike, wishing your uncle a speedy recovery. We have lots of those everyday obstacles around here — usually denoted by Jersey license plates.)

[...] A Note from Fatty: OK, you’ve heard from me (a lot) about this year’s Leadville. You’ve heard from Susan. You’ve heard from Bob. Now it’s Dug’s turn. After this post, we’ll stop retrospecting and will come back to the present. Unless Brad, Rick Sunderlage, or Kenny has something they’d like to contribute, that is. [...]

[...] I actually have another suggestion, based on an experience I had last year while racing the Leadville 100. I was eating your Margarita Shot Bloks (the ones with extra extra extra sodium) pretty much [...]

Well I don`t know much about cyclist but I always wanted to have a bike like that. I saw one once and it was like 3000 euros so I decided to buy myself a suzuki motorcycle rather than that kind of bike.